383 with Stroker kit**PRO'S and CON'S

[66belveder]

Do I go ahead and just rebuild the 383 and go .40 over with a good set of pistons with valve reliefs with under .500 lift cam with 906 heads or send extra money for rotating kit or just find a 440 and rebuild??? street driven car 200-miles a month in summer only, 66 Belvedere II very clean looking car, old school like. Trying to stay under 5k on build

 

[Cranky]

How fast do you want to go? You can make a 383 run pretty good without stroking it but if you are going to grab another engine to build, grab a 400 and stroke it instead.

 

[Banzaiii67]

What do you expect the 5K budget to cover, long block or with all the tin? All the extra bolt on's can throw your budget quick.

 

[Propwash]

How fast do you want to go?

Exactly! 5K would go real quick building a bigger stroker, considering just the rotating assembly will run you in the 2K range easily. After that, a set of good breathing heads, intake and carb....or the 2K in the stoker assembly wouldn't be worth the money spent anyways. You'd probably be right up to the 5K after decent balance of heads/head work, intake and carb, and would still be looking at costs of cam, valvetrain, oiling, fuel, ignition upgrades & all the misc. small stuff. On top of that would be all the machine work as well as upgrading the rest of your drivetrain (tranny, rear, driveshaft, joints, exhaust) to work with & put up with the big HP/TQ increase. IMO, after building my past stroker, 5K would definitely not cut the bacon to build a well balanced stroker, or a well balanced rest of the car. I'd take the 5K and build yourself a decent reg. stroke engine. It would still make for some real fun driving, for the 200 miles a year you plan on tooling around.

 

[Budnicks]

what Prop said is all true...

Nothing wrong with a 383 stroker build thou, I've done a few... 3.750" {413-426-440 crank}, 3.90" {offset ground 440/3.750" crank}, 4.15", 4.250" strokers

you can build a somewhat cheaper 433ci 383ci {-438ci} @ 0.040" over {require custom pistons}
most of the kits are either 0.030" over 4.280" bore or 0.060" over 4.310" bore, along with a 3.75" 440 forging,
with mains ground to b-specs & the counter weight reduces to like 7.2" radius {0.125" off}

the pistons, rods, crank internal hardware, balancing & machine work, will exceed $2000 pretty quickly
the heads, Cam/Valve-train & induction to "properly" accommodate the larger CI's,
would eat up that $3000 you have left pretty easily/quickly... I can be done

440source
http://store.440source.com/Stroker-Kits/products/3/ {near bottom of that page}
has some pieces that will work well for a mild combo & a little cheaper than some kits are out there... I'd go with the platinum series H-beam rods as an upgrade...

Mancini Racing has some decent prices too...


the smaller bore of the 383 4.250" bore will hinder some cylinder-head/intake airflow
{slightly shrouding the intake}
but only a few less HP in the long run,
really no big deal on a mostly street driven combo,
a larger bore is better for head & intake flow,
especially on a race engine combo, it's more important...
the 383ci bore is smaller compared to the larger bore of a 400ci 4.340"
{0.090" larger, & the biggest std bore in a mopar wedge} with a 440/3.75" crank is 451+ci's or the 440's 4.320" std bore...


The cylinder heads are a very crucial part of the combo, porting your iron 906 heads or buying some good aluminum heads {IMHFO it's money extremely well spent} that will handle the added ci's effectively/efficiently, that's almost/pretty much a necessity
{if you want it to perform the way it should}
BB wedges, B or RB combos, the Mopar wedges are notorious for the heads being the limiting factor/the big choke point in making any decent HP...
It's money well spent in that area, even if it's a stock 383 or 400 or 440 bottom end...

the 440 is wider & taller & heavier, but is an easy swap & 60+ ci's bigger in stock form

I guess it depends on what you want, your budget & what you like, if you want to keep a smaller lighter narrower -B- {383} or a bigger -RB- {440} engine in the car...

Remember it's not just the engine like others have said it's the whole combo, engine/heads/induction/fuel system, cooling system, exhaust, drive train, trans, gears, converter, tires/wheels etc.

maybe just save a little more $$$$ or budget another $1500-$2000 you'd be probably more happy with the final outcome

there's more than one way to skin a cat...

have fun

good luck

 

[super-bee_ski]

So,
After reading what everone has "offered", my only question to you "66belvey" is: Why do you want to "STROKE" it?

As BOTH Propwash AND Budnicks point out...you can use that $5000 in a better way.

 

[Propwash]

Why do you want to "STROKE" it?

[video=youtube;P7gMkiOPSeA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7gMkiOPSeA[/video]


He be Strokin!

 

[RamNBee]

To build a cheap 383 stroker, build a stock stroke 400. For your budget the 400 will have bigger bore at same stroke. Get the compression up and get a good set of heads with matching cam and enjoy! Eliminate the added cost of stroker crank. I got a friend with stock stroke 400 that runs 10s in quarter and 6.40s in the 8th in a 72 RR. Still dollar for dollar it feel it is hard to beat a 440 for reliability and cost. Good luck!
Norman

 

[HT413]

I considered a similar budget for a similar engine build and decided on a stock stroke 440. Here's why - a well thought out 440 will outperform that budget stroker for much less than $5k because that budget stroker will obviously have to be choked with iron heads. The fuel system to feed it properly will cost a grand, and this $5000 torque monster will destroy your unprep's tranny and rear, bringing the real costs over $7k.

Meanwhile I've been stashing parts for the past year or two and as an example, just scored some beautiful Manley rods for $200. The build will cost maybe in the neighborhood of $3k with Chinese heads, which leaves plenty for some mild tranny and drivetrain prep and a proper fuel system to feed the beast and still be well under $5k.

When you finally do upgrade the heads, you likely need new headers, intake and definitely cam, not to mention fuel system upgrades and further tranny work, as well as possibly a rear. Now the real cost of the build is over $10k and you only just pulled ahead of my $3k 440 done on parts I cobbled together over about 2 years.

Just save your cash a little longer or go with a stock stroke 440, which will free up cash for some aluminum heads and maybe some tranny upgrades.

And as far as I know, what a stock stroke 400 can do, a stock stroke 440 can do better for the same cost.

 

[RamNBee]

Biggest advantage over 440 for a 400 is revability. It needs to see more rpm and will make Hp higher in the rpm range. Advantage of 440 is tremendous torque down low which generally is what B bodies and race cars need to get moving. The example I mentioned is just to show a stock stroke 400 can run. But I agree with HT413 that for the level of performance the OP desires given the budget, a 440 is the best bang for the buck.
Norman